The new mobile app Cell 411 has been helping out people all over the world with its decentralized approach to how people living in the same general geographic area can help each other out in case of emergencies. The app leverages instant, decentralized human networks to allow users to create independent groups where people can leverage their connections in emergencies.

The app, which is available for both Android and Apple devices allows users to build “cells” which are either private or publicly accessible. Their neighbors, friends or families within their cities or immediate vicinity can join those cells and send or receive real-time alerts in case of emergencies, such as a hurricane, flood, criminal activities and car troubles.

Users of the app can tap the “send emergency alert” icons within the app and instantly notify a few or hundreds of other people willing to help; the alert goes out with the user’s exact GPS location so that you can be helped by your neighbors or friends as fast as possible. Unlike other similar apps, Cell 411 does not depend on failing government services which were proven inefficient and ineffective during the Houston flood. In fact, some government officials even prevented help from being provided to those in need, meaning that citizens should only expect to depend on each other, not government in case of emergencies.

Cell 411 has been in use in crime-ridden South Africa for the last years and has been credited with saving several lives during car-jacking attempts and home invasions. It has been featured on CNN as a “must have app” for users to stay safe and has been praised by security companies and formed police officers as an app that could deliver life-saving aid in case of emergency.

The app is completely free of use and can be setup in seconds. Friends can be easily added and usually an entire area or small city can be configured within the app in just a few minutes.

A small startup that has been around for less than a year has created a free mobile app aimed at helping Americans and people all over the world resist the police state. The app, called Cell 411 (or Cell 112 in Europe), is available in Spanish, Portuguese, German and Romanian, and it helps activists and people from all political shades resist government abuse with decentralized GPS-based alerts and live video features. Whether you are a gun-rights activist, an anti-Trump protester, concerned with police brutality or simply a muslim woman concerned for her safety, this app can help you build decentralized groups, or “cells” of trusted connections which you can then use to dispatch when you need help.

Because this app has been so revolutionary in its approach to building a new way to handle emergencies and the police state, it has been selected by the Victoria & Albert Museum in London to be featured in the “Future of Design” exhibit in 2018.

Think of this app as an “UBER for emergencies” or a “911 on steroids” except it doesn’t involve government, police or people you don’t trust. The app was created by a small group of passionate engineers, activists and people concerned with the growth of police state all over the world. It can be used by anyone with an Android or iOS smartphone and it has tens of thousands of users all over the world.

Here is how it works: users can freely download the app and signup for an account using their e-mail address of Facebook account. Once signed up, a user can join existing public “cells” or groups in their areas, or can create their own cells. Joining a cell allows you to send and receive emergency alerts from the members of that cell. Let’s say you want to create a cell in your town called, “Denver Mutual Aid.” Al users in the Denver area will be notified when this cell was created and can join the cell in order to offer each other help when the members request the help. There are thousands of cells all over the world used by users for many reasons, such as immigration help, neighborhood watching, etc.

You can also create private cells which are only visible to you an not other users, and you can add your friends to your private cells.

The app allows you to send emergency alerts about medical problems, police abuse, vehicle problems, crime, and other issues; the alerts are tagged with your exact GPS coordinates and your friends can get turn-by-turn directions to your location, should they decide to come and offer you help. You can stream live video to your cells and friends, and the video cannot be erased by a malicious user who may gain access to your phone. The video can also be streamed to YouTube and Facebook and is distributed instantly to all your friends, making it nearly impossible to be destroyed.

The company also created a “panic button” which is a bluetooth device that pairs with the mobile app and allows users to issue alerts instantly without having to unlock the phone or spend precious time navigating an app. Recently a “ride sharing” feature was also added to the app to allow users to offer rides to each other when they need help and accept payments for cash, Bitcoin, silver and even bartering.

You can’t always be there for your kids in emergency situations. But it’s likely that someone in your network — a trusted neighbor, friend or other family member — is nearby and can respond. With Cell 411 your kids can summon help in real-time from people you know.

Your kids are the best thing that ever happened to you. You tell your kids that you love them. Every day. You invest in your kids. You share adventures. And knowledge.

But what happens if your kids need help and you’re not around? Wouldn’t it be great if there were a tool that your kids could use to summon help from people you know – people who have their best interest at heart?

There is. Cell 411 – the free, emergency alert and response app. With Cell 411, your kid can send an alert to trusted neighbors, friends and family in unlikely but serious events like a threatening stranger, fire, or medical emergency.

In an ideal world, you’d never have to worry that your kids might be in a dangerous situation. But since you can’t always be there, download Cell 411 for you and your kids today. Cell 411 – emergency response from people you know.

This week Cell 411 Inc. announced Version 5 of their mobile app with a new major feature: giving users the ability to request and offer rides (in emergencies or otherwise) to each other; but their approach to ride sharing is quite innovative in several areas: there are no driver fees, no background checks, no car requirements, no centralized pricing and no required payment methods. In essence, the drivers and riders are in full control of how much they charge or pay and what methods of payments they are willing to use. The ride sharing feature is being officially launched in Austin, TX on November 5th. A launch party is taking place at Brave New Books, 1904 Guadalupe St. at 6:00 PM.

Users willing to offer rides with Cell 411 are able to choose payment methods like cash, credit, silver, crypto currencies like Bitcoin and even bartering. The drivers can even set their own pricing formula in order to compete with each other for rides, giving them full control over their markets. Unlike Uber, Lyft and other ride sharing companies, riders get to choose their driver based on pricing, payment methods and the vehicles used.

With Cell 411 users can choose to accept any payment methods and set their own pricing

The app gives everyone involved total freedom to offer help to other users who need transportation, making it ideal for markets that have banned ride sharing or made it difficult for residents to network with each other for this purpose.

“We are excited to add another feature to our platform that is making our users’ lives better. Since drivers and riders are not our contractors or employees and we are not involved in the payment process, we are able to give the users the freedom they do not have with Uber and Lyft,” said Virgil Vaduva, founder of Cell 411. “We are simply connecting people with each other to facilitate emergency response when needed,” said Vaduva.

Cell 411 chose Austin for their launch after Uber and Lyft abandoned users in the city due to over-regulation and demands from the city to fingerprint drivers, something considered by many to be intrusive and a civil rights violation. The company has no plans to comply with city requirements as they stated repeatedly that they only connect users with each other and are not involved in any other aspects of the kind of help users offer to members of their communities.

“Our platform has been used for over a year by users all over the world to respond to emergency situations and make communities safer, and we are happy to give our users the ability to further improve their lives and neighborhoods by offering transportation to their neighbors. We don’t control who signs up to use our platform, how they use it and when, therefore we have no plans to and we lack the ability to comply with Austin’s burdensome regulations; we are not going to fingerprint every single person downloading our app,” said Vaduva.

Version 5 of Cell 411 is available for download in the Google Play store here while the iOS version will be released within days.

Cell 411 Inc., the maker of the emergency management platform and app Cell 411 announced today that it is just days away from introducing a ride-sharing feature in their app, which will allow users to reach out to each other and request or offer rides to others as they need them. The feature will operate in a decentralized fashion, which allows users to get in touch with each other when a need for ride hailing arise, without dictating prices, methods of paying or any other centralized dictates from the company.

The Cell 411 app was created as an emergency response mobile platform which allows users to request help from trusted friends, family members or others in the community and now is expanding its reach into the market of offering help to those who may need a ride in an emergency.

Unlike Uber and Lyft, Cell 411 will offer the feature completely free to both drivers and riders, without taking a percentage of payments away. The company is offering the feature first to former Uber and Lyft drivers in Austin which were left unemployed after the city decided to ban ride sharing.

“We are taking a completely new and different approach to helping our users with rides in case of emergency. Our goal has always been to put people in touch with each other and we will simply stay out of decisions about how users pay each other and how they offer and respond to requests for help. We don’t have the right to step in and dictate when and how people offer help to each other, and neither do cities and governments,” said Virgil Vaduva, founder and CEO and Cell 411.

The method employed by Cell 411 will allow mobile users to request rides from any other user willing to offer rides or offer help to members of their community. Payment will not be required unless drivers specify they want a tip to cover their time and gas, and various payment methods can be used, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Monero, Credit Cards, Cash or bartering. Once agreeing upon the terms of a ride request, users will be able to offer each other transportation help without paying any fees to the company.

“We built the Cell 411 platform to make the world a better and safer place, and facilitating our users to have their basic freedom of movement rights is a logical next step for us. I’m looking forward to empowering users in Austin TX, Portsmouth NH and many other cities all over the world to get help without fear of being gouged or without fear of their rights being violated by government employees,” said Vaduva.

The company will release version 5 of their Cell 411 app within a matter of days in order to introduce ride sharing support and additional features aimed at improving the platform.

Former and current Uber and Lyft drivers in Austin showed excitement when hearing about Cell 411’s plans. A launch party for Cell 411 Version 5 is planned in Austin but no details about the date and location have been released yet.